The poems in After The Fire explore the themes of migration and settlement, tracking how the Chinese migrant negotiates issues of home and identity, and the liminal spaces between past and future, between the country of birth and the adopted country. They offer insights into the cultural, linguistic and literary adjustments the migrant has to make, revealing an evolving sense of self and place. They also uncover narratives linking Australia and Singapore, and provide new mappings of being simultaneously Asian and Australian.